Tow target exchange device



DeC- 27, 1949 LE ROY. s. JEssEN Tow TARGET EXCHANGE DEVICE Filed 001. 25, 1946 wN MNM INVENTOR. LE EN .5I JE55EA/ irrt/va .5-

Patented Dec. 27,l 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE rrow TARGET EXCHANGE DEVICE LeRoy S. Jessen, Dayton, Ohio Application October 23, 1946, Serial No. 105,114

1 claim. (ci. 27s-105.3) roi-antec under the act of March s, 1883. as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 O.

The inventionA described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon. v`

This invention relates to a device for releasing and exchanging an aerial target carried on the end of an airborne tow cable.

It is customary to employa release device at the trailing end of an aerial tow cable, whereby a target can be carried during gunnery practice, and said target, after having been subject to fire, can be released and dropped during flight, by means of a new exchange target applied at the leading end of the tow cable and then traveling along the cable onto said exchange device. When the gunnery practice is completed,` a-small sleeve on a lead line is launched on the tow cable, in the same manner as an exchange target, -to release the last target used, and the cable with the small sleeve are -then reeled into the airplane. Such release devices now'used are rather crude in their construction and so arel often Slow and delayed in their operative movement in releasing the towed target. Y

It is an essential' object of this invention to provide a compact and ecient tow target exchange device whichwill promptly and with certainty release the tow target when vthe traveler ring of the exchange target or of the iinal sleeve travels onto thedevice. Y

Another object of this invention is to provide such an exchange device which is simple and economical in construction, is compact in size, and is light in weight, as well 'as very effective in operation. s

These and various other objects and advantages are attained with this invention as will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein the invention is shown in its preferred form, it being evident that other arrangements and forms of construction may be resorted to in carrying out the objects and purposes of this invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is partly a side elevational view and partly a vertical sectional view of this improved tow target exchange device, shown mounted on the end ci a tow cable and in its target towing position.

Fig. 2 is partly a side elevational view including parts in vertical section and parts broken away, and shown in its target releasing and exchanging position.

Figs. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of this device, taken respectively on lines 3-3 and lI-4 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, this target exchange device is disclosed in a preferred form of construction which comprises an outer casing or body I I being tubular and substantially cylindrical in form. This body II is connected to the trailing end of the tow cable I2, as by connecting means I3, the cable having its leading end suitably connected to the towing airplane, as is well understood in this art. Soid connecting means is shown herein as including an outer conical casing I4 which is connected to said body II and contains therein a conical inner plug I5, having the rear end portion I6 of the cable I2 looped around said plug and clamped in place by means of the plug and casing and a head I'l pressed -by a lspring I8 against the cable end` A latch or target holding and releasing lever 2| is pivotally mounted in said body I I, by a pivot pin 22, said latch being preferably in the shapeof a flat bar and said pin extending through the intermediate part of the latch and through a pair of segmental blocks or bosses 23 which are interposed between the forward parts of the twosides of the latch bar and of the interior of said cylindrical body, said blocks being preferably secured in the housing, as by brazing or welding. This pin 22 has its ends seated in these blocks and in the cylindrical wall of the body, as best seen in Fig. 4.

As indicated in Fig. 1, when this improved device is in its normal towing position, the latch 2| extends longitudinally of the body II and is mainly housed therein. Said latch has a rounded upper shoulder 24 and also a tapering lower part or foot 25 at its leading end 2 I and the latch has a depending hook 26 at itstrailing end which normally projects through a slot 21 in the tubular body I I, in position to engage and hold a target lead ring or traveler ringA 28 in place on the device with said ring having the target cable or target lead line 29 attached thereto and towing the target (not shown) as is well understood in this art. This latch bar 2| has a slot 3|) provided in its trailing part to lighten it and facilitate the upward swinging of said part with the hook 28.

A trigger or latch operating and holding lever 3| is provided which is preferably channel shaped, being substantially yoke shaped in cross section and between the pair of spaced flanges or side arms 32 of this trigger is received the leading end 2| of the latch 2|, so that the bight which joins the side arms of the trigger is positioned adjacent said forward shoulder 24 on the latch. This trigger is pivoted at its lower end in the housing, by a pin 33 extending through said blocks 23 and through the housing wall.

The end 2| of the latch has a vertically extending slot or recess 34 in its lower part, thus allowing this end of the latch to move downward with this slot passing over said pivot pin 33 when said end swings downward for releasing the upwardly moving hook 26 from the target lead ring 28, as indicated in Fig. 2. The trigger 3| carries a cam pin or locking pin 35 with its ends seated in the spaced vflanges 32, and a horizontal slot 36 extends from said vertical slot 34 longitudinally of the latch 2|, so that the shoulder 24 of the latch and depresses the l same.

It may be noted that when the device is in its normal target holding and towing position, the trigger 3| extends substantially vertically, as shown-in full lines in Fig. 1, and the cam pin ,35 then retains the latch in its horizontal target holding position. Furthermore, the center of the cam pin 35 is then situated forwardly or to the left of the center of pivot pin 33, so as to aid in holding the latch 2| secured' or locked in its normal horizontal position. However, special means is additionally provided for constantly holding the trigger 'and therewith positively holding the latch in its upwardly extending position during the towing operation, and this means includes a plunger 3l slidably mounted in said horizontal slot 36 and also a spring 38 seated in a continuation or pocket 36 extending rearward from said slot thereby constantly urging said plunger to bear against said cam pin 35 for retaining the trigger in said extending position.

ItV should be noted that by this arrangement, in housing the plunger 31 with its actuating spring 38 within the latch 2|, instead of outside thereof, space is saved and this device is made more compact and light.

When a towed target is to .be released during flight, the new traveler ring 39 with the exchange target carried thereby is allowed to travel from the airplane rearwardly over the tow cable to this target exchange device which tows the red target thereon, and when this new ring strikes and swings the trigger, the bight of the trigger promptly engages the shoulder 24 on the latch, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, and tilts down the latch end 2 then, as indicated in Fig. 2, said ring in its rearward movement over the body continues to depress the trigger and latch end 2| and thereby to raise the hook end of the latch until the hook 26 is withdrawn into the body thus releasing and dropping the ring 28 with the attached fired tow target. While 50 the exchange ring 39 thus passes beyond the trigger, in its rearward travel over the body toward its target-holding position, it serves to press 4 the protruding main part of the latch back into the body of the device. Furthermore, a leaf spring 4| is placed between the lower part of the latch and the housing, being secured at its rear end 42 to the latch, and it is flexed by the ring-releasing upward swinging of the latch, so that upon release of the trigger, said spring will return the latch to againextend the hook 26 into its holding position, for retaining this exchange ring 39 in place.

With this disclosed form of tow target exchange device a compact and light structure is provided whereby the release of the red target can be eiected promptly and with certainty.

I claim:

InV a device for attachment to the trailing end of a towing cable for towing a target by its traveller ring and for substituting a replacement target for the trailing target, the improvement which comprises a hollow latch body capable of passing freely through atraveller ring and having means at the leading end for attachment to a towing cable, alatch of Substantially the length and width of said body pivotally supported in said body intermediate the leading and the trailing ends, said body being provided with an axial slot to receive and contain said latch in the unactuated position, a.. hook carried on the trailing end of said latch diametricallyopposite said slot, adapted, when said latch proper is in its normal unactuated position within said slot to protrude through an opening in said body thereby to arrest passage of a traveller ring over the trailing end of said body,v a: trigger at the leading end of said latch having one end hinged in said body and the free end extending radially beyond said body in the path of a traveller ring, a camming pinV carried by said trigger offset in the unactuated position both radially and axially with respect to said hinge and passing through a slot extending lengthwise of said trigfger, whereby swinging of the free end of said trigger toward the trailing end by the passing of a. traveller ring thereover rocks said latch on i' said pivot to withdraw said hook into said body,

axially extending spring and plunger means carried by said latch positioned to act against said camming pin to `bias said trigger to the radially extended unactuated position, and a spring means urging said latch to the normal hook-projected position. Y

LE ROY S. JESSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,752,010 Lamkey f Mar, 25, 1930 1,971,340 Foulk Aug. 28, 1934 2,432,278 Bratz ,.-1.f- .1. Dec. 9, 1947 

